§ 37

Law § 37 of Hammurabi's Code

Translation
If a man has purchased a field, orchard, or house of a rēdûm, bāʾerum or tenant, his tablet will be broken and he will also forfeit his silver; the field, orchard, or house will return to its owner.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Agricultural Obligations

Cuneiform

Law § 37 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 8, col. XII, lns. 10–21)

Transliteration

šumma a-wi-lum A.ŠÀ KIRI6 ù É ša AGA.ÚS ŠU.ḪA ù na-ši GUN iš-ta-am DUB-pa-šu iḫ-ḫe-ep-pé ù i-na KUG.BABBAR-šu i-te-el-li A.ŠÀ KIRI6 ù É a-na be-lí-šu i-ta-ar

Source: Huehnergard (2011, p. 399)

Normalization

šumma awīlum eqlam kiriam ū bītam ša rēdîm bāʾerim ū nāši biltim ištām, ṭuppašu iḫḫeppe u ina kaspīšu ītelli; eqlum kirûm ū bītum ana bēlīšu itâr.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 105)

Translation

If a man has purchased a field, orchard, or house of a rēdûm, bāʾerum or tenant, his tablet will be broken and he will also forfeit his silver; the field, orchard, or house will return to its owner.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 105)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 37 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 26 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/37. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, October 26). § 37 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/37

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 37 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created October 26, 2023. Modified December 16, 2024. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/37.

Bibliography

ACH

Abulhab, Saad D. The Law Code of Hammurabi: Transliterated and Literally Translated from its Early Classical Arabic Language. New York, NY: Blautopf, 2017.

CHTP

Bergmann, Eugen. Codex Ḫammurabi: Textus Primigenius. Rome, Italy: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1953.

HAG3

Huehnergard, John. A Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.

HKEY3

Huehnergard, John. Key to a Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.

–

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "OMNIKA: Digital Mythology Library & Search Engine." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation, accessed November 14, 2023. https://omnika.org. [Visit]

RHL

Richardson, Mervyn E.J. Hammurabi's Laws: Text, Translation and Glossary. New York, NY: T & T Clark International, 2004.

SoT

Sound of Text Contributors. "Sound of Text: AI Text-to-Speech." Accessed November 14, 2023. https://soundoftext.app. [Visit]

eHammurabi Glossary

The § symbol is a shorthand notation for the word 'section'.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Cuneiform is an ancient writing system used by various cultures around Mesopotamia.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Normalization is the application of grammatical rules unto transliterated sound values.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Translation is the conversion of linguistic contents and their meanings from one language into another.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Transliteration is the conversion of sound values from one writing system into another.

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